The structural components, such as cylindrical rocket sections, are conventionally provided with flange portions which interlock with each other and which are held together by a clamping device. Such clamping devices include at least one tensioning element with a tensioning belt, the ends of which are coupled to bolts extending perpendicularly to the direction of the pulling force applied for tensioning the respective belt by a locking member.
Devices of the foregoing type are used in different fields but are especially employed in aero-space technology, for example, to couple payloads to the final stage of a launcher rocket. These coupling devices must be so constructed that upon reaching the intended orbit, it must be possible to release the tension from the clamping belt for separating the rocket stage from another stage such as a payload. German Patent Publication (DE-OS) 2,655,772 (Heinze et al.), published on Jun. 15, 1978, describes a tensioning belt including movable clamping sliders. Such tensioning belts are also known in the art as Marman tensioning belts which are used to provide a form-and force-locking connection of two cylindrical structural components with each other, whereby the pretensioning force of a flexible steel belt is used to clamp connecting lips to each other. These conventional belts carry sliders having inwardly facing surfaces with a conical clamping configuration which engages the lips also having a conical configuration. These clamping lips form flange-type end sections of the structural components to be interconnected. Due to the pressure exerted by the steel belt the conical inner surface of the clamping slider is pressed against the conical lips to hold the components together.
The Marman-clamping belt has proven itself as a reliable, simple cost efficient connecting or coupling device in a multitude of satellite launchings. However, expanding the field of applications for the Marman-clamping belt in the aero-space technology has its limitation in the fact that the known embodiments of the Marman-clamping belt require the loosening of the clamping member which holds the two ends of the belt together, is accomplished by exploding the clamping member. As a result, conventional Marman belts cannot be used, for example, in all those instances in which a payload is to be coupled to and decoupled again and again from a transfer stage. Thus, conventionally, it is normally necessary to use a second mechanism in order to again secure the payload.